in seattle, about 100 people marked the occasion by smoking joints beneath the city's iconic space needle. technically, doing that in public remains against the law. marijuana is still illegal under federal law. but the justice department has not said if it will try to block the washington state law or a similar statute in colorado. same-sex marriage also became legal in washington state today, and in maryland. gay and lesbian couples in both states began picking up marriage licenses. those in washington state have to wait three days to be married. same-sex ddings in maryland will begin on january first. maine will legalize the practice on december 29. the three states are the first to approve same-sex marriage by popular vote. in economic news, new jobless claims fell sharply last week, after a temporary spike in the wake of hurricane sandy. and on wall street, stocks managed modest gains today. the dow jones industrial average added 39 points to close at 1,374. the nasdaq rose 15 points to close at 2,989. the u.s. senate has overwhelmingly approved a bill normalizing trade relations wit